Why are rubbers so expensive?

What makes a rubber so expensive???
I can get 2 great blades for the same price as 1 Tenergy or Dignics.sheet.
I can get 1 great blade for the same price as an Evolution or a Rakza sheet.

The rubbers are consumables, the blade is not,(unless You are Timo Boll 😏)

What on earth makes the rubbers so expensive?

Cheers
L-zr

Dignics here is about the price as buying a rosewood V by stiga (some reason a lot are deep sale atm) and once sheet of Fastarc G1
the quick answer is wood is cheap, and there isn't much research on blades compared to rubbers. Most just clone each other

Originally Posted by Kuba Hajto

What great blade you can get for 25€? You have 2 options. Buy Chinese or wait for deals. (maybe just Polish prices are lower, otherwise buy from Poland lolz).

A Dignics here goes for 95Euro's a good blade can be had for 30Euros... One excellent example is Stiga Offensive Classic.
That's even a big brand name, There are several Tibhar's and probably a couple of TSP's and Gewo's too...
Sorry I don't buy Chineese cheapo stuff... The QC has gone out for lunch break...

Originally Posted by olzetezkarzo

yes dignics is 94 usd......but this is the most expensive rubber by butterfly.
mizutani super zlc is 380usd....this would be at the same top level by the same company.

you can get a nice sanwei fextra for 19 usd.
but now you are talking about chinese market.
so you need to stay in the chinese market for rubbers too.
so you would get a palio hk1997 for 10 usd.or a 729 presto for 15 usd.

if you look at it this way the blade is always more expensive than the rubber.

maybe the better question is why does a mizutani super zlc cost 400 usd.
is that the real cost or do they put that price just because they can?

I would never ever buy a Chineese blade, I've been in China and I've seen all the fake stuff...
A cheapo rubber OK, maybe but unfortunately I hate the sticky stuff...

Originally Posted by Lazer

I would never ever buy a Chineese blade, I've been in China and I've seen all the fake stuff...
A cheapo rubber OK, maybe but unfortunately I hate the sticky stuff...

Not all Chinese rubbers are sticky. Palio AK47 feels close to Donic Bluefire for me. Similar top sheet texture and same sponge hardness range, the sponge itself is a bit different, but for most of my friends it is good enough when they don't want to spend big money. If you don't want to buy rubbers often then try Fastarc G1, supposably this rubber just don't want to DIE. It has super thick top sheet. It is stiffer than most of the other rubbers though.

Originally Posted by Lazer

Fastarc is a Japaneese rubber...

I know that. I should maybe have to accented that more clearly. I ended chinese rubbers thread and started new thought thread about using a rubber that lasts a very very very long time as an alternative solution to expensive rubber problem.

I'm playing with Rakza 7 now, they last me 6 months to a Year, so Im fine in that department...

Originally Posted by Lazer

I'm playing with Rakza 7 now, they last me 6 months to a Year, so Im fine in that department...

Last Fastarc user I talked with measured durability in years, not months. Haven't yet used it myself for extended periods of time though. Can't personally confirm those claims.

Regarding R&D costs. As far as my knowledge goes (which is somehow limited), R&D relies mostly on trial and error when it comes to tt rubbers. I can imagine that quite a lot of prototypes were hand-cast/made and glued, during the rubber development process. Which takes a lot of time, and time is the most expensive resource in any R&D process. Also ITTF approval is probably a very big cost.

Nittaku is a Japanese brand, but Fastarc is a German rubber made by ESN...

regarding topic: why does a Ferrari cost 200.000€ and a Dacia 10.000€? Why does a no-name jacket cost 20€ and a Canada Goose 1000€?
It is always about technology, research, quality, marketing. In addition you should never compare different markets and quality levels.
e.g. you can buy DHS PG5 for 40-50€ and you can buy DHS long5 for 200€ and W968 for 1000€. All are exactly the same Brand and composition, but different quality level...

I seriously doubt that there is much difference in that department.
They manufacture in the same factory with the same materials and the put on different names ...

They have a few varieties of sponges and topsheets, that's the only difference, At least between the ESN rubbers made in Germany....
There is no reason other then corruption that the approval should be expensive...

Originally Posted by Creek

Nittaku is a Japanese brand, but Fastarc is a German rubber made by ESN...

regarding topic: why does a Ferrari cost 200.000€ and a Dacia 10.000€? Why does a no-name jacket cost 20€ and a Canada Goose 1000€?
It is always about technology, research, quality, marketing. In addition you should never compare different markets and quality levels.
e.g. you can buy DHS PG5 for 40-50€ and you can buy DHS long5 for 200€ and W968 for 1000€. All are exactly the same Brand and composition, but different quality level...

That's a ridiculous comparison. A Ferrari is not a consumable, at least not where I'm from...
A comparison of car tires would have been better.

And You are mixing apples and pears this was a discussion about expensive rubbers...

Originally Posted by merlin el mago

No, is ESN made in Europe.

On order from a Japaneese company...

Originally Posted by Lazer

I would never ever buy a Chineese blade, I've been in China and I've seen all the fake stuff...
A cheapo rubber OK, maybe but unfortunately I hate the sticky stuff...

when you buy adidas or nike where do you think they make that stuff?
in china mostly....sometimes vietnam or similar places but mostly china.
it's not like you are buying a product made in "the western world".